Jade Blossom
by TheCursedBlessing
Summary: Another generation has passed. Korra has died, and she left behind an era of peace. As the Earth Avatar, it is now Rei's duty to uphold her ancient legacy. But with a mysterious regime out to kill her, she can't do it alone. And when she calls on her past lives for help, they take her to some...interesting people - for advice, of course. Inspired by Fire Lily by Karen Elaine DuLay.
1. Chapter 1

Rei looked up at the Earthbender, through vision blurry with pain. There was a smile on the woman's face, and she laughed down at the young girl at her feet. She laughed at the girl who was completely at her mercy.

"So, Avatar, care to speak yet?" Setsuko sneered, clenching her fists tighter. Rei cried out in pain as the rocks that enclosed her torso pressed tighter to her chest. That cry turned into a scream of agony as she heard the sickening crack of her ribs, cut short by a sharp, desperate intake of air. Her hands and feet were bound together by platinum chains as she lay on the ground, surrounded by earth she was too exhausted to Bend. Rei offered no rebuttal to her jibe but a low groan of anguish. Even if she wanted to speak, she was in too much pain to do so.

Setsuko paused, then hummed thoughtfully. "But I suppose I must give you credit for holding out this long. It must be horribly hard to resist the Avatar State by this point."

Rei knew she was right. After almost a week of constant torture, she still hadn't cracked, and it was beyond her how or why she had managed. Rei was not strong or brave by any means. She was cowardly, clumsy, and she too easily let fear drive her actions. She was a poor excuse for an Avatar, and she knew that. She was too scared to master the four Elements, to bear the responsibilities she was born with. She tried to ignore her status, her duties, and this is where it led her. The world was falling into disarray because she did not know courage. She only knew happiness and a sheltered life. She was not prepared for any of this, nor did she want to be prepared. And this was the price she paid for her naïveté.

"I…trusted you…" she managed to rasp at her Earthbending teacher. Setsuko was one of only seventeen people Rei felt she could depend on enough to reveal her true identity. And now here she was, in a secret base of the Scarlet Regime, being tortured in order to find the Grand Lotuses of the White Lotus and the location of a world leader in hiding. As well she was being forced into the Avatar State so she could finally be killed and break the Avatar cycle. Setsuko and the others did not care which came first.

Setsuko said nothing, and instead grinned. Suddenly she spread her fingers, and the rocks fell away from the young Avatar's body. Her response was immediate. She gasped for air, each pant hurting, but she hardly noticed. She just needed air.

"Humph. Guess I can't get you to talk today, either." Setsuko tossed her black hair and shrugged before beginning to walk towards the door. "Nanuq will be here shortly to tend to your wounds. I suggest you think about your options until then."

Rei did not openly weep, but tears ran down her cheeks. She hated Nanuq, the man from the Southern Water Tribe. She hated his treatment more than anyone. The way he healed her was painful, and he used her to practice his Bloodbending. And he would touch her, skimming his fingers over the veins on her wrists, looking for exactly what and where to manipulate. He would cut her at a vein, and coax her blood to flow out of her body until she was unconscious, and she would wake up to the terror of him putting the blood back. She would rather lie there with broken ribs for months than let him heal her in a moment.

"Help…" she choked, hoping something would hear her. All her life, spirits had been Rei's only friends. Being the adopted daughter of a man whose past generations had settled on a holy site to protect it, she never had trouble crossing into the Spirit World. In fact, she went there often. Many spirits were concentrated at the shrine she tended to, and they played with her. They helped her. If she got hurt when playing outside, or when she got lost in the forest, they would take her home. But no spirits were here to aid her now. It made her sad, but she couldn't blame them. This was a toxic, horrifying place.

The door in the platinum cell creaked open. Rei looked up and into the cold blue eyes of Nanuq. "Please, Nanuq…" she begged, not below groveling for mercy. Her chest rattled with each word, rendering her silent with agony.

He grinned, a look of genuine happiness on his face. He came over to her and crouched down. "Don't worry, Avatar," he said kindly, "I'll fix you right up. Setsuko is pretty mean, isn't she?" He set down the ceramic jar he had been carrying, and Bended out the water. It flowed over his hands. "Where does it hurt?"

He was as sadistic as one could get. He truly enjoyed watching her writhe in pain. He liked treating her like a toy, seeing how close he could get to breaking her before stopping, repairing her, and starting over. Secretly, Rei wasn't entirely sure he even knew what he was doing was wrong. She squinted at him, unable to see him clearly without her glasses, and tried desperately to convey her terror, hoping upon hope he would show even a minimal amount of pity and restraint.

She was disappointed again. Without another word he placed his hands on her chest. Immediately, she screamed. "Ah, so _that's _where it hurts! Alright, just sit still and I'll…"

If he said anymore, Rei didn't hear over her shrieks of pain. He did not guide, but forced her ribs back into place, the cracks lining up before sealing like glue as water spread over her body and glowed. When he was done, she could hardly breathe. She stared, wide eyed with horror, at the Waterbender as he moved his hands towards her face. "No," she gasped, in no less pain than she was when her ribs were still broken. But he did not listen. He held her cheeks, and water flowed over her head, into her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

She writhed and cried out as he healed her swollen eye and bruised cheek, and in her panic her legs, bound together, swept up and hit his side. He grunted slightly, and moved his hands away.

"No more!" Rei wailed, feeling empty and shattered in a way she did not know existed. She struggled to breathe again, coughing up the water that fell into her throat. _Breathe, breathe, breathe!_ she told herself, doing everything she could to refill her bruised lungs. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. She was so tired, and in so much pain she could hardly remember how. She turned on her side, shuddering. "Please…no more…"

Nanuq seemed surprised. He leaned back on his knees and with a troubled frown said, "Really? Are you sure?" as if he didn't understand why Rei was so distressed. The water on his hands flowed back into the jar. Then he smiled again and said, "Okay, Avatar, okay. I guess your healing session can wait until tomorrow."

Rei glanced at him, hopeful and relieved, but her heart sank when he began crawling towards her and murmured, "I guess we can go straight to Bloodbending."

"No," she groaned, trying to move away from him. "Please, no…"

He hovered over her now, his eyes evil and grin wicked. With hands on either side of her face, he bent down towards her. She watched in horror as his lips pressed against her right temple. "I can feel your blood rushing," he whispered. "You need to calm down, Avatar. It's not healthy for your heart to beat this fast." His lips ran downward, over her cheek, until they reached her neck. He felt her pulse, and nibbled very slightly on the sweaty flesh over her carotid artery. And at that moment, something snapped in Rei, and she felt something she hadn't felt in a very long time.

Anger.

She was so furious at him—at everyone—for violating her, betraying her trust, for hurting her. And they were going to pay dearly for it. For it all.

"You dare kiss me?!" she roared in a voice not quite hers. Nanuq reared back in surprise and gaped at her as a new strength flooded through her. She pulled her arms apart with enough force to break the platinum chains, and she did the same with her feet. They would pay. They would pay for treating her this way. They would pay for trying to kill her, for torturing her, for exploiting her.

She stood up, no longer feeling any pain. All she felt now was red hot fury. No more mercy, sadness, or agony. Only revenge. Only pain on those who had wronged her. It was not her time to die. It was them that deserved death, not her.

They deserved it.

Nanuq scrambled backward, and she raised her hands. Immediately the water from the jar burst out. She swept her left arm outward, and it froze into ice. She turned her arms above her head in a circle, and with her right arm pointed forward the water went around her and out, running along her arm and straight at the Water Bender, the frozen point gleaming.

She heard voices. Shouting. Screaming. People were flooding into the room now, all with their arms raised, ready to Bend, ready to kill. But it was not her time to die.

_It's not my time to die,_ Rei thought, and just before the ice reached Nanuq, her vision went white, and she tumbled through the light into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

"For God's sake, I know he's late to world meetings often, but late to the one he's hosting? Really." England shook his head, obviously displeased. The other nations who happened to listen in nodded their heads in agreement.

The nations of the world sat in the Salute State Guest Hall in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, some of them growing increasingly annoyed. The meeting was supposed to start half an hour ago, but one of the most important countries had not yet arrived. China had a bad habit of being tardy to conferences—after all, he personally stated he puts food above even his nation duties—but when he was the host of a meeting, he went to great lengths to be early and make sure everything was in order the way he liked. He would make sure the whole building was spotless, and get some of the best chefs around to prepare snacks and other refreshments.

"I wonder if anything happened," Japan mused, half to himself and voicing that nagging thought everyone had. At least, the ones who _cared _were thinking that way.

"Pfft, I'm sure he's fine! He probably just overslept again or something." America came striding over, breaking a conversation he was having with Canada. With a sparkling smile he said, "Who knows? Maybe he's finally realized a Communist government blows and he can't bear the shame of admitting it!" He laughed victoriously, as though he just won a bet.

England put his elbow on the table and soundly smacked the palm of his hand on his forehead. "America, I don't think his government would collapse _that quickly and without notice." _He emphasized the last words, hoping that America would process the stupidity of his statement. But, much to his chagrin, he did not.

"Duh, I know that! Do you even know what sarcasm is?" America gave him a bemused look.

England ground his teeth together, but said nothing.

"Hey, Taiwan's not here either!" someone piped up. America, England, and Japan turned to see Korea standing behind them, his arms crossed and pouting. He was tapping his foot impatiently and added, "I was going to hurry over to Langfang to see a play after the meeting, but if they don't get here soon, it will have to run late! I already bought my ticket, and I am _not _missing out on something I already paid for!"

"Maybe you can contact him?" Liechtenstein suggested, sitting a few seats down the table.

"I already tried," Korea huffed. "I even called Taiwan! I mean, I know he's staying in his spring home in Hebei and all, but it's not that far from here!"

"And of all people, it would be China who would know how soon to leave the house so he could make it on time, even through the Beijing traffic," Japan added. "None of us were too particularly late, if I do recall."

England nodded and reached into his briefcase. "You're right. I'm going to try to call him and see if I can reach him." He dialed his mobile number and pressed the phone to his ear.

It rang four times, and then went to voice mail. Before the answering machine beeped, England said aloud, "Huh, that's odd. He always has his cell on him, and it's on." Then it beeped and, before England could talk into it, America snatched it from him and loudly declared, "Hey, China! Where are you? You're super late, and we can't start without you! Hurry up and get your old ass over here!"

"America!" England barked, dive bombing for his phone. America raised it out of reach, and England hammered the top of his fist with his hand. More startled than hurt, America dropped his hand, and England quickly took back his phone.

Glaring at his former colony, he cleared his throat and said, "Sorry about that, China—America stole my phone. But anyway, you really are exceptionally late, even for you, so I just called to know of your whereabouts. Please call me or someone else back. If you are not here within fifteen minutes, we _will _begin the meeting without you." With that, he hung up.

"Oh, I do hope he is okay," Ukraine fretted, drumming her fingers on the desk nervously.

"I am sure he's alright. Surely he would tell me if something is wrong! Let me call his home phone," Russia chimed in, and pulled out his own cellular phone. He punched in the numbers and put it to his ear. His ever present smile wavered slightly, and turned into a slight pout when he did not answer that, either. "China? Hello? China? It's me, Russia," he called through the answering machine. "Anyone home? China, did you oversleep again? Hello?" He paused for a long moment, and for a few more moments after that, puncturing the silence with the occasional, "China, it's Russia. Please do pick up." After another minute or so, he gave up and ended the call.

"Okay, now _I'm _getting a little weirded out," America admitted.

"This is indeed odd. He usually wakes up very early, yes? And even though he sometimes forgets there's a meeting, he never forgets when one is in his own home." France strode over now, frowning slightly. "Maybe one of us should check on him?"

Austria, who was sitting next to England and listening in, shook his head. "No. If he's not here, then we will simply proceed without him. Taiwan as well. We can postpone issues relating to the two until tomorrow, when—hopefully—they will actually _be _here."

"I'll hold a vote," Germany decided, standing up from his position beside Austria. "Attention, everyone!" he boomed. Immediately the talking died down and everyone looked to him. "China and Taiwan are absent, as most of you are already aware. If they do not arrive within fifteen minutes, please raise your hand if you would like to start without them." Everybody looked at each other, and slowly the majority of hands went up. Germany nodded. "Alright, then. We'll start soon enough, so I suggest everyone starts putting their notes together."

Obediently, nations began filing to their seats, opening up their bags and briefcases and folders and going over what they wanted to discuss. But there was a slight tension in the air, a gnawing nervousness for the welfare of the missing nations, and even America felt it. Before the conference started, Korea tried calling China again, both on his mobile and home phone. Once again, no response.

The fifteen minutes had passed, and the clock struck 12:45. With exchanges of wary glances between the countries gathered, America rose and began the meeting, wondering what China and Taiwan could _possibly _be up to.

* * *

><p>"Alright, yeah, I'm freaked out now," Korea told Japan during the lunch break two hours later. When Japan looked at him curiously he explained, "I just tried calling China and Taiwan again. No answer from either of them."<p>

"Hmm," Japan hummed, setting down his chopsticks onto his plate of _tataki_. He patted his mouth with a napkin and suggested, "Maybe afterwards we should go see China, since we at least know where he is. You remember the location of his Hebei house?"

"I do!" Suddenly Russia was there, with a smile, as always. "I would like to check on China as well. I do hope he is doing okay," he sang. Japan managed to repress a shudder. Knowing Russia, he only cared for his southern neighbor's well being because he wanted him for something, and not of out of simple kindness.

Korea glared up at him, but conceded. "Yeah, okay. Whatever. And I wanna find out what's up with Taiwan, too."

America stepped into the conversation, a half eaten hamburger in his hand. "Yeah, I'd like to know, too. To be honest, I'm a little more worried about her." Which, of course, made sense. America saw her as someone he needed to protect ever since her country rejected Communism, after all. He even once suggested she was like a little sister to him, a sentiment she was vehemently against, because to her, it made her sound weak.

"Then we are in agreement," Japan said, sending a sideways glance Russia's way, not wanting him to get involved. "After the meeting, we'll go to China's home, since it is closer. Hopefully Taiwan is with him, and we can kill two birds with one stone."

"Sounds good," Russia chirped, and turned to go finish his lunch.

Korea also began to walk away. "And hopefully I'm not late to that play. Because if I am, he owes me!"

Word spread of the plan to investigate China's and Taiwan's absences quickly. And soon, almost everyone wanted to be involved. The reasons varied greatly ("I really need to discuss this with China!" "I have nothing better to do." "If he/she's coming, then I am, too!"), but as the end of the first day of the world conference drew to a close, most everyone planned on checking in on China, too. Japan tried to insist so much commotion wasn't necessary—and it wasn't—but there was some unspoken vow between everyone present to discover why China and Taiwan were MIA.

That was why so many nations were now gathered outside China's spring house. Or rather, it was a mansion, to be more precise. And it was old. Very old. It looked more like a giant temple than somewhere to live, perfectly symmetrical with a hipped roof that had ends that swooped upward, golden pillars that supported it, a wraparound porch, and smaller houses attached on both sides of the center axis by long hallways.

America got out of his rental car and released a low whistle. "Nice place."

"China likes to spend spring in this rural area. Spring is when Beijing gets the most hectic, with the Lunar Festival and all," Hong Kong muttered. He, along with Macau, had decided to join the search party after they were both called by Korea and also knew nothing on China's or Taiwan's whereabouts. He pointed. "They must still be here." Indeed, inside the gate, on a large square of gravel that branched out from the path, sat his car.

"Well? Shall we proceed?" Austria insisted, tapping his foot irritably. He was one of the countries to come out of sheer boredom and no other way to spend his time. But it didn't seem to make him any more optimistic.

The various nations glanced at each other, before Korea stormed up the steps to the porch and pounded his fist on the double doors, calling excitedly for his Aniki.

* * *

><p>"China! Get up, you lazy bum! If you don't hurry, we'll be late to the meeting!"<p>

"Me? _You're _the one who spends forever and a day putting on makeup!"

"It's an important process to look professional and elegant! Quit doing your stupid dance and let's go!"

"Aiya! How dare you call Tai Chi a 'dance'! You of all countries should know how important it is to do morning Tai Chi to me and my people! It's an integral part of my culture!"

The bickering escalated into nonsensical shouting as the two Asian nations ran back and forth between the halls, scrambling to apply last minute accessories and gather important notes on economics and politics.

"Taiwan! Have you seen my briefcase?" China cried in exasperation as he tore up his bedroom. "All my notes were in it! Did you take it?"

"Me? Of course not!" Taiwan cried back, putting on her earrings and looking into a hallway mirror. "It's not my fault you're irresponsible with your things."

China ran out of his room just to glare at her. "Irresponsible? _Me? _You're the one who misplaced just about everything but your clothes and bed when you were young! If I hadn't cooked your food, you would have forgotten to eat! How dare you treat your teacher—your _brother_—with such disrespect!" He dove back into his room to search more.

"That was a long time ago, China," Taiwan countered. "At least _I've _grown out of that phase. For such an old man, you are still such a child!"

"Found it!" China left his room triumphantly, briefcase in hand. He wasted no time in pacing past Taiwan, saying, "Alright, if we leave _right now,_ we can still be a little early, on time at the latest. And for the millionth time, _I'm not old!"_

"Are too! Ugh, I can't _believe _I'm stuck rooming with you for the next few days for the meeting!" Taiwan, done prepping herself, dashed past China, and they rushed for the front door. To save some money and time, she had decided to fly from her home and to China's a day before the meeting, and was now staying with him until the three day conference was over. It seemed like a good idea at the time—she hadn't seen him in awhile, and despite all her grievances towards him, she knew family was important. Also, those cramped hotel rooms, the polluted air, and the constantly bustling streets of Beijing drove her crazy. She much preferred the quiet of the countryside, or at least her own, nicer cities above China's.

She had forgotten how _utterly annoying _her teacher was.

China grabbed his key ring from the bowl on the table next to the doors. Taiwan ran outside as he muttered under his breath about his immature little sister while pulling on his shoes, wondering where he'd gone wrong.

He stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind him, then locking it. He checked his watch as he fumbled for the car key. "Alright, it's a bit of a drive from here to Beijing, but if I move through Hebei fast we should be able to—what, what's wrong?"

He nearly ran into Taiwan before looking up. "What?" he repeated in surprise. He thought she would've already been in the car by now. When she did not respond he said, "Hello? Earth to Taiwan! Come on, we're going to be late!" He poked her back, noticing her rigidness.

His voice must have jarred her back to reality. Instead of acknowledging him, she let out a high pitched scream, which bordered on surprised and horrified. Then she darted forward, and China felt his heart seize in his chest. Just past her, lying face down on the gravel path, was a person coated in blood. Taiwan crouched down and rolled the person over, then placed her finger on their neck. When she looked up to China, her eyes were wild and scared. "She's alive! Teacher, please, help me!"

Now China snapped out of it. "She is?" he gasped. He, too, ran over and fell to his knees on her other side. Yes, she was breathing. The young girl before them breathed heavily, panted really, her puffs of air rugged and uneven. She was covered in blood—far too much for someone to survive. Yet, clearly, she lived. China tried to find the source, but the blood on her was old, and it was _everywhere. _He saw no obvious injury on her face or neck, but he couldn't tell if her clothes were ripped open and she was bleeding from her torso. He felt adrenaline roaring through him as he recalled horrible flashbacks. Fatally wounded, dismembered soldiers lying on a field decimated by mines and mortars, moaning in pain, crying for death, their glassy eyes staring an eternity into the sky…

"—cher? Teacher!" Taiwan shook his shoulders, and China realized he had zoned out again. "What do we do?" Tears of fear welled in her eyes. She was not used to gore and carnage, and for once she was not sure of herself. She was scared. _He _was scared. But he couldn't let her know that. Right now, this was probably the one time in a very long time she would turn to him for advice, from both past and in the future. And this young girl needed him, too.

China took a deep breath and straightened his back. He carried the weight of an entire nation and culture on his shoulders. He could handle this, too. He passed his keys to Taiwan. "Open the door," he murmured. He put one arm under the girl's knees and one under her upper body. With a small grunt, he lifted her up. "We're going to miss the meeting."

He wasted no time in going back into the house and he climbed up the steps, Taiwan close behind. "Open it," he told her, and for once, without objection she opened the door to the second guest room. He carried the girl inside and set her on the bed with a sigh. "Even with my great economy, I'm not as strong as I used to be…"

"What now? What now?" Taiwan exclaimed. "Should I call an ambulance? Or maybe we should take her to the hospital!"

"Wait a second," China said, looking down at the girl. He turned his head in curiosity, looking at her intently. "I don't…I don't think she's bleeding."

"What?" the other nation gasped.

"Look." He spread his hands over the girl. "All that blood is dark, it's…old. And I don't see a wound anywhere that's oozing. Here, help me get rid of her clothes."

She wore two robes, a deep green one over a yellow. The green one had long and large sleeves, and was cinched closed at the waist by a belt of pale green beads, hooked to a wooden square with a weird symbol carved into it. It was shaped like a trapezoid, but at the middle of the bottom side each end went up into the shape, and from those stemmed two lines in opposite directions. Above that was a swirl. China was not familiar with such a symbol, but he made a mental note of it. He felt it would be important. Attached to the wooden square were three purple strings that various colored beads and dyed, bright blue feathers hung from.

China unclasped one end of the belt from the other, which appeared to be glued to the back of the wood block. Why she would wear something of such poor, primitive craftsmanship was beyond him, but the thought quickly left him. Now there was just the yellow robe, more of a dress, really, that reached to her ankles and had shoulder straps.

"I'll do this," Taiwan offered, stopping China from slipping the material off her shoulders. "You wait over there. I'll check for injuries."

"Okay." For once, there was no talking, no bickering as the two worked together. China obediently turned around to face the opposite wall as his little sister worked.

"I…there's nothing here. You were right. There's no wound," Taiwan said, puzzled. Yet she was relieved the girl seemed to be fine, for lack of a better word. "She doesn't have a scratch on her. The blood's soaked through her clothes, but other than that…it's not hers. China, I—" She hesitated, a dreadful thought reaching her tongue. "What has she—I mean, how—?"

"I know what you mean to say." China turned at that moment, just as Taiwan put a blanket over the girl. She appeared to be a teenager, maybe between fourteen and seventeen. "I wonder what happened to her, too. I wonder who she must have killed."

"We don't know she killed anyone!" Taiwan exclaimed, horrified at the idea.

"Look at the blood on her, Taiwan! There's no way a person can survive losing that much!" China insisted, pointing at her.

"Shh! You'll wake her!"

"You actually care about her? Taiwan, she could be dangerous!"

"Or she could be in danger!"

"Then we should turn her over to the police!"

"China!" Taiwan stamped her foot in frustration, then took a deep breath. "China," she repeated, "I think we should wait until she wakes up and ask her what happened, and just go from there. I mean, I'll watch her, and even if she hurts me, it's not like she can kill me." She folded her arms, the way she did when she had decided something and refused to budge.

China sighed, knowing there was now nothing he could say or do to change her mind. "Alright, fine. But I'm watching her with you. I don't want you getting hurt."

"But the meeting—"

"—is three days long. We won't miss much." He sat at the edge of the bed, regarding his little sister. "I'm not budging, either."

For a long time, she said nothing. Then a small smile grew on her face and she said, "Alright. Thank you, Teacher."

* * *

><p>"So this…she is why you did not come?" Japan managed to choke after minutes of stunned silence.<p>

Taiwan nodded grimly, the other nations who couldn't fit into the room craning to see the girl. Taiwan had answered the door, and immediately told everyone to be quiet. She assured that she and China were alright, and that she wasn't surprised the countries had come. In fact, they had expected it. But she had fallen asleep in a chair while watching the girl and China refused to move, so he never answered his home phone or cell phone, because he had left that in his bedroom.

"I did manage to put some of my clothes on her," she explained, "and I took her glasses off for her. It's been hours, but she hasn't moved an inch. Sometimes you can't even tell she's breathing."

"And neither of you called the paramedics?" England said, tone hushed with shock.

Taiwan shook her head. "She was…she was totally covered in blood when we found her. You could barely see the colors of her clothes. I washed the blood off of her face, but…there was just so much. I can't get it out of her hair and the rest of her body without bathing her. And I want to know what happened, because despite being unconscious, there's nothing wrong with her."

"You mean, that blood wasn't hers?" Germany stammered, looking over at the clothes that were draped over another chair. They were _drenched _in dried blood, staining the material brown and red.

"No." Now China spoke up. He sat next to her, feeling her forehead. Her skin was fair, pearly almost, and beads of sweat dotted her face. But she breathed gently through her pink lips, and seemed to be sleeping rather peacefully. He looked up at Germany. "She's completely fine. Not a cut, not a slash, not a bullet hole, not a bruise on her. Her pulse is fine, she's hydrated, her breathing is stable…I can't make heads or tails of it. Her breathing was a bit rugged at first, but it's evened out since."

"So you took in a girl covered in blood that's not hers and gave her a bed to sleep on? How stupid can you be!" France cried, looking as intrigued as he did frightened.

"Well, I _wanted _to contact the authorities, but Taiwan won't let me. Besides, the police of Hebei wouldn't really be cut out for something so strange. And I must confess, I'm curious as to what happened to her, too."

"Yeah, this is some FBI stuff," America muttered, the first time he spoke since he saw the girl.

"But you could be harboring a murderer!" England persisted, jabbing a finger in her direction.

China held up his hands and opened his mouth to speak, but Taiwan cut him off. "Believe me, England, I know. But I just…I feel like I need to protect her. Don't you? She could've seen something, been forced to do something…I'm not sure how to explain it, but I feel like she needs me. Needs us."

"Are you mad?" he barked. He turned on his heels and began to leave the room. "Either she killed someone or watched someone die, right in front of her. What she _needs _is to be sent to the police and locked up in a psychiatric ward! I'm calling the police."

"No, please, wait—!" Taiwan tried to stop him, but, out of all people, it was America who put his hand on his shoulder, halting him in his tracks.

"England…I think we should listen to her. This girl, she seems…I don't know, but I feel like I need to be watching over her, too."

"Have you gone daft?"

"No, I just—"

"Please! Lower your voices." Taiwan stepped between them before their bickering could escalate. She turned to England. "Look, if you don't want any part of this, then go back to your hotel. But _I'm_ sticking around, and anyone else who wants to can."

England glared at her, then sighed in defeat. "I don't want any part of this, not at all. But if I'm right, and this turns out to be a total psychopath that tries to kill you all—well, you'll need someone to protect you."

"How reassuring," France sneered, rolling his eyes.

"Do you have a better idea?" England demanded.

The other man held up his hands. "No, I don't. For once I agree with you. She shouldn't be kept here. But, I suppose that if Taiwan won't let us move her…then we just have to wait it out."

"She doesn't look like a murderous psychopath to me." Now Italy chimed in, and he moved closer to the bed, hovering over her. There was a hint of fear in his voice, fear that England and France were right. But there was also a trace of optimism, one that was ever present with him. "She looks nice enough! Who knows, maybe she'll be our friend!"

"Of course you would think that," Germany muttered, pinching his nose in frustration. He also did not want her to stick around, but it seemed Italy did, and there was no way he'd be able to defend himself from her if she was a threat, so, he supposed, he was stuck sticking around in China's home.

Nobody heard him.


	3. Chapter 3

When Rei regained consciousness, she knew right away that something was wrong.

She was not in her cell. The four metal walls and sandy ground had been replaced with a bedroom. She gasped and sat upright, startled. Immediately she became horribly lightheaded, and for a moment her vision went completely black. Dizzy, she laid back down and stared up at the ceiling until it stopped swirling.

Rei examined her surroundings. She was tucked into a rather soft bed with white, fluffy blankets. Across from her was a dark wooden dresser, to her left was a closet, and to her right was a window. The walls were painted lavender, and matching curtains only slightly hid the afternoon sun that filtered a purple rectangle on the bed.

After the initial surprise wore off, confusion and fear quickly followed. Her last memory was of Nanuq touching, caressing, kissing her. Violating her. And she got mad. She was angry, and then…nothing. He had been on top of her, his lips on her neck…. And in the next instant she was here. But how was that possible?

She wondered just how she passed out. She _did _feel rather tired. Maybe her exhaustion caught up with her? Or maybe there was something in Nanuq's water, and when it got into her mouth, it caused her to black out? But why would he do that? And why would the Scarlet Regime take her to this place? Had she been transferred to another part of the base, or another location entirely? Why? And why would she be placed in such a hospitable environment so suddenly? Setsuko did not hide things from Rei, or at least, she had no reason to lie to her. She often delivered news—mostly bad—to her of the outside world due to her supreme arrogance. She would have told Rei she was being moved…wouldn't she?

And was she unguarded?

Indeed, there was no one in the room with her. In her large, windowless cell there was just one door, which needed a key to unlock, and was heavily monitored, so there was no reason for a soldier to be in there with her. But in this room there were two doors, next to the closet and beside the dresser, and she could see no cameras. But that didn't mean she wasn't being watched.

Quietly, she slunk out of the bed. Her feet sunk into the plush beige carpet, and she wiggled her toes experimentally. She was still so tired and hungry, and now, out from under the blankets, she was freezing. Glancing down, she gasped to see she was wearing different clothes. Rei had been wearing a patchwork dress riddled with holes, the worn cloths haphazardly sewn together after she was captured. But now she wore a long, light green pleated skirt and a dark green blouse with long sleeves, and the fabric overlapped, making a V-shape. Another terror swept through the Avatar at the thought of being stripped bare, followed by another wave of confusion at being redressed. What was the purpose?

Rei took a deep breath and sunk into her mind's eye, envisioning her chakras. The spheres were small and dim, and the flow of energy was slow. They hadn't changed, not that she was surprised. Fear clogged her energies, and her physical weaknesses prevented her from Bending at all._ How ironic, _she thought bitterly, _that the Avatar is but a Nonbender._

Slowly she sank to the floor, fighting back tears. She was so puzzled and frightened—what was she supposed to do now? She just wanted to go home. That was all she wanted. She just wanted to go home and continue living in the village, denying her existence as the Avatar and letting the world sort itself out. She didn't want to be involved in these politics anymore. She hadn't wanted to be involved in the first place! She much preferred her little cottage on the Earth Kingdom coast, a world detached from the Four Nations. No war, conflict, or political strife affected them. And the world had been just fine before she made her identity known. What a fool she had been to let her loneliness consume her!

But Rei knew to stop lamenting her irreversible decisions. She was the Avatar. It was her job to right her wrongs and fix the world. She knew she didn't have to like it—and she didn't—but she _did _have to restore balance. No one else could do her duties. The time that it was acceptable for her to cower had passed. Now she had to be brave—or at least feign courage for everyone else.

Deciding she had better investigate, Rei used a nightstand next to the bed to help her back on her feet, clutching the top as she stood. Her fingers brushed against something. Looking over, she stared at her glasses in shock. That was impossible! They had broken a week ago! With shaking hands, she picked the eyewear up. They were definitely hers. They had the same thick, tortoiseshell frames, and when she put them on, her vision immediately became sharper and clearer. But how could this be?

Hoping against hope, she reached for her neck. But no, her precious necklace had not been returned. Her heart sank, and for a moment she was breathless with grief. But she swallowed it down, turning her priority to finding out where she was.

Rei crept over to the white door across from her and turned the knob slowly, holding her breath. There was no sound when she opened it, just a crack, and she peered inside. Once her eyes adjusted to the dark, she released her breath in a sigh of relief. It was just a bathroom.

She entered it and flipped the light switch. To her right was a sink, and above that, a mirror. What she saw reflected there froze her to her core.

Blood had dyed her hair crimson and brown. It formed knots and tangles, and her hairline was red. Rei ran her fingers over her hair frantically, but found no wounds.

"What…?" she breathed. She tried harder to remember what had happened to her, but still nothing came to mind other than Nanuq crouching over her. She thought so hard she got a headache, and she put her fingers to her temples to massage it away. She decided to check herself. She pulled the collar of her shirt down, seeing her chest. It seemed fine, and she was relieved to see she was still wearing her undergarment. Then she lifted the back of it, and saw no marks on her back. Finally she pulled the skirt down to reveal legs with no mars.

"I don't understand," Rei muttered. Her glasses shouldn't here, _she _shouldn't be here, and there was no way she did not have any scars from all the things she'd been through in her life. She had a scar on her left knee from when she landed on a sharp rock as a child, but it was gone now. And she knew, _knew _Nanuq didn't heal all of her. She should've had a burn mark on her hand, when she touched the flames on the stove when she was eight to test her Firebending. But that was gone, too. Rei had been covered in bruises and burns and scars from training, and Setsuko and the others had purposefully tortured her in a way that would be etched into her not just mentally, but physically as well.

She looked down at the sink, and realized then how thirsty she was. Not seeing a cup, she plugged the sink and ran the faucet, letting cold water pool until it was halfway full. Curious, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she held her hand over the water and, fingers pointed down, moved her wrist up. Obediently a tendril of water rose and curled toward her hand. Okay, so she could still Waterbend. That was a start, at least. Should she escape—and she planned on it—she'd at least need to be able to Bend one Element. Of course, being able to Bend all four would be best, and maybe she could do that, too. Or at least, _hopefully _she could. It'd be hard to Earthbend when not on the ground floor, but there was nothing stopping her from Firebending or Airbending. Although, she'd much rather _not _set the whole building on fire when she was in it. And it was doubtful there would be convenient jars of water to Bend in the hallways. Guess that left Airbending, which, thankfully, she was good at.

The water entered Rei's mouth, soothing her parched throat, and for a moment she considered she had been saved. Maybe she was in someone's home, rescued from the Scarlet Regime by the people of the Academy. As appealing as it sounded, she remained doubtful. She had only been conscious for a few minutes! Spirits knew what had happened to her and where she was, if she was in danger or safe. But she wouldn't find anything out by waiting, especially if she was still in enemy hands. Rei shuddered, and the water splashed back into the sink, mind blackened by fear at the thought.

She turned around, and saw a towel rod across from her. She threw the towel that was on it to the ground and took down the rod. It was a metal cylinder, and would hurt plenty if someone were to be hit with it. She hated the thought, but if she had to, she had to, even if it killed them.

Rei slunk back into the bedroom, clutching the rod tightly with shaky hands. And then she noticed the chair. By the window was a simple wooden chair, and hung over it were red and brown clothes. No, wait. Upon closer inspection, she realized those were _her _clothes. Her _old _clothes. The ones she wore the night she was taken.

"By Raava," she gasped. Yes, those robes were definitely hers, and they were also drenched in blood. "What has happened to me?"

Just then, the other door opened. Startled, Rei turned to see a boy standing in the doorway. He was about her age, and had brown eyes and hair, an odd curl sticking out from it. He wore robes slightly similar to hers, with long, oversized sleeves and a navy, sleeveless vest-like thing over top. He looked just as surprised as she was, and looked at her with a gaping mouth.

He had little time to react other than that. Acting on pure instinct Rei ran towards him, then swung the rod at his legs. With a cry of shock and pain, his knees buckled and he tumbled to the floor. She leapt over him and bolted through the door, entering a hallway. Not knowing where to go, she made a right.

_I have to escape! _she thought, terror rushing through her veins. In that brief moment, she thanked the spirits she had gone to the Academy, a blessing she didn't often recognize, for Master Takeshi's training with weapons and arms and legs. He taught her how to hone her intuition and instincts, to use them to defend herself with quick jabs, thrusts, stabs, and swings. Certainly anyone with arms could use a towel rod as a weapon, but she was thankful that she knew more than others, if she imagined it as a smaller staff. Although, Master Takeshi was more of a swordsman. It was Master Prema, really, who taught her the ways of the staff, even though that was mostly for Airbending.

Yes! A stairwell! She flew down the stairs, which ended at another hall. A few lengths ahead of her was someone else, another young boy with brown hair and brown eyes. His eyes widened when he saw her, and with a screech of fear Rei cracked the rod across the side of his torso. She stumbled from the contact, and her back fell against the wall. She watched him crumble to the ground, and for a brief moment felt sympathy for him. She looked down at him, trembling, hardly able to breathe, and then she looked up, feeling the blood drain from her face.

She was looking into a room, once that was full of people. For a second they all stared at her, and she stared back. But then several lunged for her, crying, "Grab her!"

"No!" Rei struck a man who reached for her hands, hitting him on the head. Then another grabbed the towel rod, shouting, "Let go! Let go of it!" But she hit his face, too, and he reared back, holding his face in his hands.

Now someone else grabbed her weapon, and another took one of her arms, prying her hand from the metal rod. It was ripped from her grasp, and Rei felt bile rise in her throat. She kicked the man who took her weapon, right where it hurts most. He released his breath and fell to the floor, but clung to the cylinder.

Her arms were pinned to the walls now, and no matter how violently she writhed, they remained clamped to her like iron. There were tons of people now, screaming and shouting, but she hardly heard them over the rush of blood in her hears. Adrenaline pounding through her veins, Rei desperately threw her legs upward, stopping anyone else from coming near her.

"Let me go!" she shrieked, tears running down her cheeks. "Let me go let me go let me go! No more! I don't want this! Just let me go home! Please!"

"Please, calm down!" A voice rose above the cacophony now, and a man pushed through the crowd. Startled, Rei stopped kicking as she stared up at the oddest-looking man she had ever seen. His skin was pale, and yet his eyes were blue. A startling, sapphire blue at that, a blue she only saw in the dark skinned people of the Water Tribes. And his hair! It was…yellow? Why would he dye his hair such a strange color?

Noticing she heard him, Germany stepped closer. "West." There was a warning tone in Prussia's voice behind him, but he ignored it. Even if the girl did hurt him, it wouldn't cause any lasting damage anyway.

"Stop struggling," Germany said, steadily coming closer. He tried to speak softly, noticing her terrified eyes, and realizing that she felt she was in danger. "We're not going to hurt you."

She pressed herself further against the wall, but made no attempt to flee. "It's okay; you're safe," Germany assured. He got down on one knee in order to make eye contact with her. Now a bit lower than her eyes he said, "I am Germany. What's your name?"

Rei was even more surprised. Why was he pretending to not know her? Surely she was still in the possession of the Scarlet Regime! …Right?

"I—I—" she stammered, woozy from all the emotions she felt. Thoughts muddled, she did the only thing she could think to do. She head butted him.

Germany let out a shout, more caught off guard than in pain. He backpedaled away, holding his nose. Rei slumped forward, dazed. She hadn't expected his head to be so dense!

Wow she had hit him hard. The corner of her vision darkened, and she wasn't sure she had ever gotten such a horrible headache so fast before. _I'm going to faint, _she realized. She tried one last attempt to break free from the hold of the two men that had her arms, but her movements were sluggish at best. It was easy for them to maintain their hold.

"No…" she groaned, exhausted and petrified. "Please, just leave me be." Those were the last words she uttered before she blacked out.

* * *

><p>This time when Rei woke up, the first thing she noticed were the voices. There were people with her, muttering amongst themselves, sounding urgent and agitated. Second came the pain, which exploded in her head. Caught off guard, she took a deep, shuddering breath, followed by a moan. The voices abruptly stopped, and mentally Rei cursed, realizing too late she should have stayed quiet. If she had, she could've listened in and learned more about these people.<p>

"Excuse me," a soft, feminine voice said. She touched her hand. "Are you awake?"

Reluctantly, the Avatar opened her eyes. She saw a woman with long brown hair and warm green eyes, smiling at her sweetly. Rei would've trusted a person with such a nice face, if only Setsuko hadn't ruined her peace of mind.

"Who are you?" Rei croaked, looking for the door. She was in the same room she had been in previously, and knew she must have been at least on the second floor of the building because of the stairs from earlier. Unless she was certain she could Airbend—and she wasn't—there was no way she'd be able to go out the window if she couldn't create a cushion of air to protect her.

The woman had just opened her mouth to respond when Rei clambered out of the bed. Clumsy with dizziness she fell, but quickly got back up and lunged for door, deciding it was better to leave first and ask questions later.

"No, wait—!" the person cried, but she was already turning the doorknob. She yanked the door open, only to run straight into someone else. She looked up, and could only gape. It was the strange looking man from before, with the yellow hair. Out of options—there was no way she'd be able to protect herself from that behemoth—she turned on her heel and dashed for the window. She had learned how to survive falls from great heights with minimal injury from Master Takeshi. If she could just put her skills to good use for once—

Suddenly someone grabbed the back of her shirt collar and part of her hair. She screamed as she was yanked backward, and fell to the floor.

"Hey! Don't touch her! You just scared her even more!" the woman yelled.

"What did you expect me to do? Let her jump out the window?" a man jeered in response. Rei looked up to see a nobleman standing over her, jabbing his finger in her direction. Or at least, he had to have been a man of wealth. He glanced towards her and she gasped. His eyes! His eyes were, of all things, _purple! _Purple eyes, yellow hair—what kind of strange cosmetics were these? Why was the Scarlet Regime decorating their soldiers so strangely?

The woman glared at him, but when she turned back to Rei, her eyes grew soft once more. She must have been of Earth Kingdom decent, and judging by her eyes she was probably an Earthbender. Rei just hoped she wasn't too good of one.

She lowered herself to one knee. Rei crept backwards, letting a whimper of fear slip from her lips.

"No, no, it's okay," the woman said in a soft tone. Slowly, she extended her arm to her. "I'm sure you have many questions, and I'd be more than happy to answer them. You don't have anything to worry about, dear. My friend and her brother found you passed out and covered in blood just outside her brother's home—where you are now—and they've been tending to you since. Right now, they're taking a bit of a break. But anyway, we're not here to hurt you. We're just here to take care of you. Okay?"

Rei hesitated. What she said somewhat made sense. Rei had no idea how she wound up here, and they seemed to know even less than her. And she _did_ have more questions. At the very least, she wanted to know where she was.

"T—Then where am I? And who are you?" she whispered.

The woman's smile widened. "You can call me Hungary. And you're in China now, dear, in the Hebei province."

"Hungry?" Rei echoed. What kind of weird name was that? She didn't believe that was her actual name, so fine, Rei wouldn't give her real name, either. Assuming they didn't already know it.

But wait…where was she?

"Where?" Rei repeated.

"China, sweetie," Hungary said again, lowering her hand when she realized the young girl wouldn't take it. "To be more specific, you're in the Hebei province. But I doubt you know where that is. That's okay—I didn't know about it for a long time, either. What's your name?"

"I—China? Is that in the Earth Kingdom?"

"The what?" Now Hungary's smile faded, and her eyebrows folded in puzzlement. "What's the Earth Kingdom?" Then she shook her head. "Never mind. What's your name?"

Rei didn't answer, and in that pause she felt her gut flip upside down. The world began spinning, and she was overcome with nausea. The room lilted to the left, and she had to put her hands on the floor to stop herself from falling over.

"Whoa, hey! What's wrong?" Hungary asked, noticing the girl grow pale.

"What is the…the Earth Kingdom?" she whispered. Her stomach clenched, and began to feel a burning pain flow through her veins. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. "The…the Earth Kingdom is the Earth Kingdom! It is my home! I know nothing of a place called China! Why do you pretend to know no nothing so blatantly? Where am I? _Where am I?"_

Rei felt as though she was suddenly punched in the stomach, and she fell over in pain. She curled into a fetal position, and she realized that the shift of her vision was actually a shift of energy. Now that she thought about it, now that she questioned where she was and received a strange answer, she felt the power around her change. It was swirling violently into something, something else she did not know. It was not visible, nor was it tangible, but she felt, she _knew _there was something off. It was like the cusp between summer and autumn when, after days of heat and humidity, a single cool day followed, and on the wind there was an unmistakable feeling of fall. It wasn't there, and yet it was.

Now she realized she was not only far away from home, but _beyond _home. She was somewhere else—she could feel the Light inside of her quake, adjust. Like a wind, the new energy of this place flowed through her. Her spirit jerked, her body twitched, and it almost felt like her soul was being stripped from her body.

_You don't belong here, Avatar, _a female voice spoke. Rei had never heard the voice before, but she knew with certainty that it was Raava, speaking from inside of her. _This is not your realm. But you must bear it, my child! I have saved you, and now you must bear the burden of my soul fused with yours. You must experience all you can, learn all you can, to save our world! Only you, my Avatar, can accomplish this task. You _must _adapt, or all of us will perish. I believe in you, Rei. I _know _you can succeed. But you cannot do it alone. And so that is why I, and the Avatars before you, why we…_

Her voice began fading, being replaced by that woman, Hungary, shaking her. "Hey, hey! What's wrong?" she demanded. "Please, tell me what's wrong!" Thinking Rei still couldn't hear, she tried desperately, "Please, I don't want to hurt you! None of us want to hurt you! I want to _help, _so please, tell me what is—!"

"I am Rei."

"H—Huh?" Hungary stopped shaking her for a moment, and moved back to stare into her eyes.

Rei stared back, realizing that the woman before her was not of Earth Kingdom decent. "I am Rei," she repeated, voice soft yet sturdy.

Emotions swirled through her like a whirlwind, too many to count, too many to decipher. Overwhelmed with the sudden comprehension of where she was, she fainted once more.

* * *

><p>"Rei, huh?" England muttered. Hungary nodded.<p>

"She fainted again after telling me her name. Austria and I put her back in bed, but…before that, she said, well—"

"Wait a second," America cut in, leaning forward in his chair in the great room of China's house. "Isn't Ray a guy's name? What's she doing with a masculine name?"

"I hardly doubt that matters," England interjected. He turned back to Hungary. "Now, you were saying?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but just then Japan cut her off. "Actually, in my language, Ray can be feminine. In English, it's spelled R-E-I. Depending on the character used, it can mean 'bell', 'lovely', or 'the tinkling of jade'. So perhaps her name is of Japanese origin?"

Hungary tried to speak again. "But what I think is important is that—"

"Wait," now Romano interrupted her, and she tried not to noticeably seethe with anger, "so she's a Caucasian girl that speaks English with an American accent found wearing Korean looking clothes, with a Japanese name, in China." He shook his head. "This makes no goddamn sense."

"I agree, but listen, please. She said—"

"And her eyes! Did you see her eyes when she came down here?" Finland said. "I've never seen a regular human with such green eyes. And didn't they look more like yellow-green? How are her eyes such a strange shade of green?"

"Yellow-green? They looked more like jade green to me," Estonia put in, who was standing next to his Nordic friend. "And you know what, that may be why her name is Rei, assuming her name is Japanese and she uses that character to write it!"

Finland nodded, contemplating. "Hmm, now that you say it, they do! I mean, other nations like Hungary and Switzerland have some really green eyes, sure, and then there's Iceland and Russia with purple eyes, but a normal person with jade green eyes? It's so strange."

"Rei doesn't know what China is!"

The talking in the room died down. Everyone dropped their discussions and stared at Austria in surprise.

"What do you mean she doesn't know what China is?" China asked after a moment of silence, flabbergasted.

Austria closed his eyes and pushed his glasses up, and Hungary took his place in speaking. "She asked me where she was, and I told her she's in China. She asked if China is in the 'Earth Kingdom'."

"Earth Kingdom?" England echoed. "What the hell does that mean?"

Hungary shook her head. "I don't know. I asked her what the Earth Kingdom was and she went berserk. She said it's where she comes from, and insisted she's never heard of China, and that I was lying to her by saying I don't know what the Earth Kingdom was. All of a sudden she got really pale, fell over, started twitching, told me her name, and then she fainted again."

Germany sighed heavily, feeling a headache beginning to form. "Yes, that's exactly how it happened. I've never heard of an Earth Kingdom before, either, and she seems to be shrouded in mystery." He glared at his brother. "I wish we didn't have to wait for more answers, but _someone _just decided to leave the room right before she woke up the first time. My nose still hurts from her head butt."

"Hey, I was bored!" Prussia defended. "And I was only gone for a minute to get a drink!"

"Yeah, well, at the very least you could've gone back instead of pausing to chat," Korea puffed, a bag of ice on his right leg.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry she whacked your legs and all, but better you than me, right?"

Hungary smacked him upside the head.


	4. Chapter 4

For reasons beyond her comprehension—perhaps it was the spirits working in their mysterious ways—Rei felt relaxed when she woke up next, like she had finally caught up on some much needed sleep. She felt refreshed, the bed felt comfortable, and for a moment she just wanted to bury herself into the nice, fluffy blankets and sleep in, just once, and not spend any time training. Screw the private healing classes she had with Master Mukta on the weekends; her joints and sore shoulders needed some relief. Ooh, she could sleep in, spend the afternoon in the forest with Mala, eat some possum chicken and beetle worm soup for dinner, then soak in the hot communal bath until she was sweating.

But then she remembered. Flashes of the past days flew through her head—when Setsuko broke into her room and captured her, her five days in the Scarlet Regime's hands. Then there was that blip in her memory, the one she still couldn't figure out, and then…

She sat up with a gasp, realizing she wasn't in her bed anymore. Rei put a hand on her forehead and looked down at the bed sheets, breathing hard. She recalled Raava's voice. She knew she had spoken to her, but what had she said? She said she and her past lives took her someplace…?

"Awake again, eh?"

Rei started and turned towards the sound. There was a man sitting next to her, on the chair where her clothes had been. He wore a green, military like uniform and had intense green eyes that were darker than hers. He had shaggy, yellow hair, and she blinked at him in wonder. There were two other men with yellow hair in the room with her, two women with dark brown hair, and another man with hair the same shade as the woman wearing the pink dress. There was the man who said he was Germany from before, the woman who called herself Hungary, a man whose hair reached his shoulders and had minor traces of stubble, and then the remaining two looked to be siblings and of Fire Nation decent. They had the common dark brown hair—similar to her own, except Rei's hair was so dark it could look black or brown depending on the light—and amber eyes of the island nation.

"I—I am?" she said uncertainly, still feeling dazed. She tried to realign with her train of thought before the man spoke. Yes, Raava most definitely talked to her and said she and previous Avatars took her somewhere else. That could only mean one thing. Her blank spot in her memory had to have been the moment she was transported.

Rei's mind reeled. Had she gone into the Avatar State?

"How do you feel?" Hungary asked. Then she added, "Your name is Rei, correct?"

She hesitated in answering, and tried to sort through her thoughts. So she just nodded in reply to her second answer. "I feel…I feel…" Rei rubbed her eyes. "I feel disoriented," she said honestly. "And confused. Hungry, too. But by hungry I mean I want food, not as in your name."

The woman stared at her for a moment, and Rei thought she may have offended her. But then the woman laughed, and the Avatar relaxed. "My name's not hungry, dear. _Hungary. _Like the European nation. It's spelled H-U-N-G-A-R-Y."

Rei crinkled her brow. She didn't understand her last sentence at all, but decided to let it go. She glanced around again, mildly horrified that she had forgotten all that she had experienced in the past five days. She had no reason to trust these people. They were probably just buttering her up, and would strike the moment she felt comfortable with them. Just like Setsuko. Still, there was a shroud of doubt inside of her. If Raava's intent had been to save her, then these people would be her allies, wouldn't they? Unless she had been kidnapped from the people she was _actually _supposed to be taken to…

The Avatar felt a headache grow in her skull. She shook her head to clear it.

"Where are you from?" Hungary pressed. Again, Rei hesitated. Did they really not know who she was? How was she to ask if they knew she was the Avatar without exposing herself if they didn't?

Thinking over her words carefully she said, "You…you do not know? You really do not know?"

Hungary shook her head. "All I know is your name and where you are now. And that Taiwan—" she pointed a finger at the other woman in the room, and then turned her thumb towards the man with the hair band "—and China found you just outside this house covered in blood. Do you know what happened, dear?"

Rei felt an icy cold gather in her chest. "No," she whispered, recalling her bloodstained clothes and hair. She touched the top of her head, her hair feeling thick and tangled. When she pulled her hand back, it was red. She shook her head, disturbed. "No, I…I really don't."

There was a pause. Finally the man with the green eyes asked rather gruffly, "Then what's the last thing you remember before the first time you woke up here?"

She must have looked mortified, or maybe about to cry, because there was a visible shift in everyone's demeanor. Suddenly they looked more uneasy, more tense, like they were prepared were she to jump and try to flee again. "I…I was…there was a man, and he was—" Her throat closed, stopping her words. She bowed her head and shut her eyes tightly, stopping her tears from spilling over.

"Hey." The other girl, Taiwan, came over and touched Rei's hand. She looked up at her, and hated herself for enjoying her sympathetic eyes. She didn't deserve sympathy, and she shouldn't have wanted it as much as she did. But she just wanted to be treated well again. After her five days of torture, and her year of painful training, she just wanted to relax now. At least for now, before she couldn't ignore her Avatar duties any longer.

"I know it's hard for you, but please, we need to know." Taiwan squeezed Rei's hand. "Whoever lost that much blood is in danger. We need to help them. We need to know what happened to you."

But Rei didn't want to tell. It hurt to tell, and if it was Nanuq's blood that was on her, if he had died, who cared? Was it so wrong to revel in the painful death of those who deserved it? She knew it wasn't okay to think that. She hated herself for thinking such cruel thoughts. But they wouldn't go away.

"I don't know," she persisted. "I don't know where I was, either. I had gone to bed, and when I woke up I was in a strange place with a strange man. I got mad at him. I kicked him when he tried to take my clothes off. And he reached for a glass bottle. I don't know what happened after that." Okay, so that wasn't the entire truth. But she didn't owe these people that. Rei felt a bitter taste rise in her throat. She felt that anger again, that anger that pushed through her sadness and self-pity. She moved her hand away from the other girl.

There was another pause. Then Taiwan said, "Well, what state do you live in, then? Were you visiting this country?"

"State? What do you mean by state?"

Taiwan's expression deteriorated from one of sympathy to confusion. "You know, state. You are from America, right? You sound like it. Or maybe you're Canadian? Or from an American territory?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rei said. "I have told you already, haven't I? I'm from—" And then she stopped when she realized something. Last time she was awake, didn't they ask her what the Earth Kingdom was? And hadn't they said she was in a strange place she didn't know, either? Someplace called…China, was it?

Rei felt that pull on her soul again. She sensed the world around her shift. For a split second she saw the energy around her, all in the colors of the chakras, and she saw the auras change hue. She couldn't tell what colors they become, though—her vision returned to normal too quickly. She felt that thing she had before. That instinct deep inside of her that told her something was just _off._

She felt…wrong. She discovered then that she shouldn't have been where she was for multiple reasons. The change in the energies she had never noticed before until they shifted, these people with strange appearances, that spoke of places that didn't exist…

At least, they didn't exist in _her _world.

She felt the blood drain from her face, and her vision tunneled. _Spirits, what have you done? _she thought meekly. Did they know where she was from? No, no, they certainly didn't seem to. If they did, they wouldn't be asking her what 'state' she was from and not know of the Earth Kingdom. Should she tell them? No—at least not yet. Rei needed to know these people and this dimension she was in while she had the advantage of knowing she was in a realm separate from her own. And what would they do if she told them the truth, and Bended to prove it? There were so many options her head spun, from torture to brainwashing, and she couldn't think of a positive outcome. No, definitely feign ignorance at all costs. That was the best plan.

"Earlier you said you were from somewhere else. The 'Earth Kingdom', was it?" the man with the shoulder-length yellow hair asked.

Rei cringed, regretting them she told them earlier. But in retrospect, she had never in her life considered being transported to a completely new reality! She knew they existed, that there were portals to other worlds in the Sprit Dimension, but actually _being _in one? She was scared, but maybe even more intrigued. She wondered what was similar and what was different in this world compared to her own.

Her brain scrambled for a possible lie. "I…um…yes, the Earth Kingdom." She hoped that sounded like a lie. If it did, then they wouldn't believe her, and she couldn't pretend to be from somewhere else when she didn't know what kinds of places there were here, so that would leave them stumped.

The man with the brown hair in a ponytail regarded her carefully. "I've never heard of that place. Where is it?"

"Where is China?" Rei countered. "I've never heard of such a place in my life."

The man looked almost horrified. "How could you not know where my house is?" he demanded. "China is China! It's the largest country in Asia! How could you not know?"

"Um…" Seeing she had offended him, she tried to appease her possible ally. "I—I'm sorry, sir, but I just don't know." She looked down.

"Then where is the Earth Kingdom?"

She continued to look down and didn't answer, and everybody waited and waited, but she refused to speak. Rei just prayed they wouldn't torture her for the information. She never wanted to go through that again. It wasn't that she was a _bad _liar, per se, it was just that she never _needed _to lie. She couldn't think of a way to quell their curiosities, so she decided to keep it to herself. She wasn't used to lying, so she wasn't good at thinking up false claims so quickly.

Eventually, Germany sighed heavily. "Rei, that man and Taiwan saved your life this morning. Don't you owe it to him to tell the truth?"

"No," she replied immediately. She heard the smallness in her voice as his words took effect and she began feeling guilty. She looked back to China. "I appreciate you finding me and providing me with shelter, sir. I am in your debt. But my truth is not your truth, and I will leave it at that. My name is true, that I come from the Earth Kingdom is true, and it's true I don't remember what happened at all. That's all you need to know." Surprised by her own boldness, she took in a deep breath. _I suppose I am good at diplomacy after all, _she thought. _If this can be considered diplomatic._

There was another silence. Rei braced herself, prepared to jump away. After her rest she felt good for once. Prepared, confident in her Bending skills. She could feel strong auras coming from the people before her—they had power, that was for sure. But theirs was different from hers and, hopefully, that served in her favor. There was something else in the energy around her—something strange, but she was unable to place it. But that could be learned later.

Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she had eaten nothing but a pear all day, but she kept quiet. The last thing she wanted was to offend these people further and get kicked out.

"Ah—that reminds me," Taiwan finally said, hearing Rei's hunger, "I made something for you."

She turned around and picked up a bowl with the top covered in foil from the dresser and carried it back. She handed it to Rei, then passed her a pair of chopsticks. "I thought you might be hungry, so I made you some food. Nothing fancy, just noodles, steamed vegetables, and boiled meat, but I hope you enjoy it!"

Rei was surprised to feel herself smile. She hadn't done that in awhile. "Thank you." She took off the foil and steam rose up, entering her nose. Ooh, it smelled good! "I…thank you. Thank you so much!" She snatched the chopsticks and blew hard on some noodles and celery she picked up, then stuffed them into her mouth. Despite her body betraying any traces of her malnourishment from the past few days, her famish remained. Or perhaps her body had never shown signs of thinning. She hardly ate for only five days, after all, and she hadn't exactly spent much time looking at herself or bathing.

Taiwan smiled, though it was strained. "You're quite welcome. It's late evening now, almost eight, and you haven't had a thing."

In her rush to consume her dinner, Rei dropped a carrot slice on her blouse, and she recalled that it wasn't hers. She looked up and asked with a slight blush, "Er, who…who changed my clothes? And what happened to my robes?"

"Oh, that was me," Taiwan responded, to the Avatar's relief. She would've been mortified to hear it had been a man. "As for your old clothes, well…they're in the bathroom, hanging on the curtain rod. I tried cleaning them, but they're permanently stained, I'm afraid. I think we should throw those away."

Rei was quiet for a moment, then said, "I see." The thought of throwing them out made her sad, for whatever reason. It felt like, by throwing them out, she was throwing away something important to her. It was like she was throwing out some kind of memory. The robes she was wearing when she arrived in this world were her favorite ones, the ones she wore all the time. They still smelled of the open mountain air, the salty ocean, and the grassy plane her home village was nestled on. They smelled of burnt pastries from when her father tried to bake. They were soft, like her father's hands as he touched her cheek and wished her goodnight. They were warm, like Mala's fur as Rei nestled against her friend on a snowy night. They were comforting, like Huang's embrace…

She felt her throat close up when she thought of him. Huang…spirits, did she miss him…she hoped he was alright…

Rei's appetite vanished. She set the bowl down in her lap, and studied the people before her, catching a glance at the man with the green eyes. "Excuse me, but…who are you?"

The man seemed to just realize that he hadn't introduced himself. "Ah, right. Well, I go by a few names, actually, but you can just call me England. I also go Britain and United Kingdom."

Rei opened her mouth, and almost asked if the United Kingdom was similar to the United Republic, but then that would only raise more suspicion on her part. Then she almost asked if his hair color was natural, but managed to stop herself from asking that as well. She had to at least feign she understood this world. She was sick of being interrogated. She just wanted to be left _alone. _"And you, sir?" she asked the man with the longer hair and stubble.

He smiled kindly. "I am France, Miss Rei."

Satisfied, she turned to the last man with the ponytail. "And you mentioned you were…?"

"China!" he cried, looking irritated. "How can you not know me? I'm the oldest country, with thousands of years of unique culture! I'm the most populous country! I'm the fourth largest nation in the world! How could you know not anything about me?!"

As he spoke, Rei noticeably shrank away. She hated being yelled at. Her father only raised his voice to her once in awhile, when he was extremely angry, and she always went especially out of her way to never let that happen again. It scared her. It intimidated her. It made her feel small and weak.

"Oh, just ignore him," Taiwan said, glaring at China. "His pride's just hurt is all. He'll get over it."

"Hey!"

Rei's head spun. "Wait a moment," she interrupted before the two Asian nations could begin to bicker. She pointed at China. "I thought you said China was a nation, but you said your name is China, except you're acting like you _are_ China. I am confused. Are you…are you—" Rei was too embarrassed to say it. It sounded so stupid! But maybe…this was what separated this world and hers? By this point, Rei really wouldn't have been all that surprised if her hypothesis was correct.

Everyone in the room exchanged glances, and then Germany said, "Well, it's only natural that she's curious, and we already gave her our country names. We might as well tell her."

France looked to Rei and grinned. "Do you think you can keep a secret?"

Caught off guard, Rei answered, rather uncertainly, "Yes…?"

"Good!" the man beamed. He sat down on the bed. "We, my dear"—with a sweeping motion he encompassed the room everyone else in it—"are the personifications of entire countries."

It took awhile for Rei to process the information. Well, her hypothesis was somewhere along those lines, so she wasn't entirely wrong. "…Oh," she said quietly.

France laughed at the befuddled expression she was giving him. "Allow me to illuminate further. We all have normal humans we call ourselves by, but when we talk to each other, we normally just call each other by the country we represent. We're as old as certain countries, and we've existed throughout our country's history. China addressed himself as China because he _is _China. I _am_ France. England is England, and so forth. Does that make any sense?"

Suddenly, Rei felt very weak compared to the people in the room with her. "So, wait, you're…immortal? Like spirits?" she asked hesitantly.

"Spirits?" France repeated. His smile wavered, but then returned. "I've never heard someone compare us like that. We're certainly not gods, if that's what you mean. We can die and age just like anyone else. It's just that we can only die when the entire nation collapses, and our physical ages affect our country's age and development. For example, China over there"—he pointed a thumb at him—"is about five thousand years old, yet he still looks young because his country is highly developed. But then there's America—you hit him earlier today—who is also a first world country, yet he looks younger because he is only a few hundred years old, biologically speaking. Understand?"

"I…think so." Rei turned the idea over in her mind. It helped her to compare this 'America' person to Avatar Aang. His appearance—perhaps capabilities, like strength and endurance—betrayed his true age. Okay, she could follow that. But wow, having people who were actually countries was rather…impressive. And if everyone in the room with her were nations, that meant there were more than just four here. Amazing! This world must have been far larger than her own if it could hold so many places.

A new thought struck her. "Wait. You asked me if I could keep a secret…like no one else knows." She gasped. "Does no one else know who you people really are?"

"Not normally, no," Germany ceded, looking angry. "Our bosses—the people who run the country, like England's Prime Minister and America's President—know, and some other people with high statuses in authority and government do, but we don't usually tell random citizens." He shot a glare at Hungary. "It's dangerous to do so."

Hungary met his glare calmly, and waved him aside. "Oh, don't be so stiff, Germany. She's just a child! What could she possibly do with the information?" Then she turned to Rei and said seriously, "But really, Rei, it's important you don't tell anyone else. Not even your family. Understand?"

She nodded. "Yes, I do." But, while she meant it, it was just an automatic answer. Living nations! Did the Five Nations have personifications, too? Should she, as the Avatar, know them? When she toured the world and visited their leaders, none of them had mentioned nation-people, not even hypothetically. Were these kinds of people exclusively found in this dimension? Oh, there was so much she didn't know, she had so many questions that she didn't know where to start!

No, she had to focus, she realized. She didn't have time to stop and chat and ask. She had to find a way home. She had to protect Huang, and the members of the White Lotus, stop the Scarlet Regime, and save the world…

Rei felt dizzy, and felt the same nausea she always felt when she considered all the tasks that rested on her shoulders. She felt a rock form in her throat. Why, oh why did it have to be _her_?

"Good," Hungary replied, snapping Rei out of her thoughts. "I'm glad. Now, then, why don't we—"

"Um," Rei interrupted, swallowing thickly.

Hungary raised a brow. "Yes?"

"I…um…" She looked down. "I…can I be alone for a little bit? I, um…" Her eyes searched the room, and she saw the bathroom door. "I don't feel very well…I'd like to bathe."

Hungary blinked. "Oh, of course!" she cried, jumping to her feet. "I didn't even think of that! Okay, go ahead and take a shower, sweetie."

Then Taiwan cut in. "I'll lend you something to wear when you're done, too."

Rei eased off the mattress and stood, pressing her right fist to her left palm and bowing in respect. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Er—" Taiwan looked confused, and Rei wondered why she wasn't bowing back. Or maybe they didn't do that here? "I—It's no problem," she replied. She began heading for the door. "I'll be back in a minute with some pajamas for you. Come on, let's go."

One by one, everyone began filing out of the room. Germany and England stared at her suspiciously, China looked unsure, but the others looked rather at ease. She couldn't blame the former two for not trusting her, but she didn't like it. Either way, she just needed a moment to herself. To breathe.

The door shut behind England, and Rei headed for the bathroom.


	5. Chapter 5

Rei felt like crying.

Her shower had been pleasant enough, sure. In fact, she had even relaxed while she took one. The fact she had spent so long cleaning her hair and body of blood had certainly bothered her, but she hadn't bathed in hot water in _so long._ She had felt good again, and allowed the steam to swirl around her, consumer her, steal her spinning thoughts and replace them with blissful nothingness. But then she had gotten out.

Taiwan had supplied her with a hairbrush and detangling gel along with pajamas, which she was thankful for. But the gel had done little to unravel the mess that was her hair. When she bathed she had applied layer after layer of shampoo and conditioner (also provided by the sweet nation-person) until crimson no longer stained her hands and flowed down her back, and she had scrubbed away the blood on her skin until her flesh was raw and pink. They hadn't prepared her for the torment of trying to brush her hair, though.

It was so awful, it was surprising Setsuko hadn't used the method to torment Rei. Every stroke stung, and sent pain that shot from her scalp to her spine to her chest. The pain was so fierce she could hardly catch her breath. She was sitting on the toilet seat now, wrapped in a towel, tears in her eyes, trying so hard to keep her bawls to herself as she scraped at her hair, which reached just past her breasts. And in her frustration, she only tugged harder.

She couldn't take it anymore. Rei started to cry. Then she cried harder when the hairbrush got caught on a knot at the back of her head, until she was totally sobbing and no one could ignore it.

Someone pounded at the door. It was Taiwan. "Rei! Rei, sweetie, what's wrong? Are you okay?" She jiggled the door handle, but the Avatar had locked it out of habit. "Honey, please open the door."

Rei complied, knowing she was a pitiful sight. But she didn't care. Taiwan took one look at her and understood. "Come and sit on the bed, dear. Let's see what I can do for your hair."

She moved past the nation-person and sat down on the mattress obediently, and Taiwan followed. She sat behind her, and wrestled the brush out of her hair. "Alright, let's take this one section at a time." She held a tangled lock in her hand and began pulling it apart firmly, making Rei cringe.

The Avatar tried to think of something else to take her mind off of Taiwan's attempts to tame her hair. This world seemed to have similar technology—indoor plumbing and lights, at least. The pajamas Taiwan had given her, which were laid out on the bed, were made of cotton, so obviously they knew how to make threads and dye them as well. So far, this dimension wasn't any different from her own, besides the odd yellow hair and purple eyes (assuming those were natural), along with the nation people that personified the apparent many nations of this world. And there was another thing, too—this world did not have Bending.

Rei didn't know how she knew that. She just _did. _In the shift of the cosmic energies she felt earlier, she realized there was a lack of Bending chi in the air. That meant that all the people who had been in the room with her previously were Nonbenders, or there was no Bending in this world at all. It wasn't that she could tell if someone could Bend on sight, but if she looked into her mind's eye, which took massive amounts of concentration, she _maybe _could. It was simply a mix of speculation and intuition that led her to think there was no Bending here. She made a mental note to critically examine one of the nation people later. Maybe she could find a way to ask Taiwan about Bending, without exposing the concept if it was foreign to this reality?

As she was thinking of a way to word her question, Taiwan piped up. "So, Rei, tell me about yourself." She was done with the clump at the crown of her head, and was now brushing the hair that rested on Rei's back. "How old are you?"

Caught off guard, it took her a moment to respond. "Er—nineteen," she said.

"Really? You look younger than that."

"I get that a lot. I was a 'late bloomer', you could say. I didn't hit puberty until I was fourteen," Rei confessed. "I have a question for you, too, Taiwan. Are you really as old as your country?"

Taiwan hummed. "Well, I'm not technically a country. I _want _to be, but I'm having some…issues with China, you could say."

"Like what?"

She sighed. Rei's head was throbbing, but at least the conversation was helping her ignore the pain. "I'm a sovereign state, really. I was China's territory for a long time—he practically raised me, in fact. But, well, I'm a couple hundred years old now, and I just want to be on my own. Also, we have conflicting ideals. Very big, important ideals. The only compromise China could make was giving me a centralized government for my island. I have my own flag, land, and population, and I'm not dependent on China's government. Still, I'm not a recognized nation. Does that make sense?"

"So there are other personifications of landmasses that aren't really countries?" Rei asked, intrigued.

Taiwan nodded. "Oh, yes. All the provinces here in China have personifications, as well as Japan's prefectures, Germany's states, and there are some micro nations that have human representatives, too." There was a pause. "Ah, that's it! Your home must be a micro nation! _That's _why we've never heard of it. Am I right?"

_Hardly, _Rei thought, almost scoffing. The Earth Kingdom and the word 'micro' were not exactly synonymous. But still, it was best to delude these people she didn't trust quite yet. Or at least make them think they were correct so that they wouldn't ask anymore questions. "Um, I suppose. I grew up in a village…no one ever taught me much about the world."

"Is that why you don't know about China?"

"I guess."

Taiwan hummed, breaking apart another set of tangles. "Then you probably don't know where my home is, either."

"I would assume it's on an ocean because you called it an island. And close to China, maybe?"

The woman laughed. "Yep! I'm just off the coast of China."

But Rei was still bothered by something. "Um…I hope you don't mind me asking, but…why do you talk so funny? A—And the other people I've spoken to, they just talk…strangely."

"Well, naturally. English isn't any of our native languages, except for England. So, England has an English accent. Germany speaks English with a German accent. America speaks English with an American accent, just like you. Is the Earth Kingdom in America?"

"What's 'English'?"

Taiwan stopped brushing her hair. Rei could hear the puzzlement in her voice. "You don't…you don't even know what the language you're speaking is called? Where is the Earth Kingdom?" she repeated.

"Um…" Rei's brain stalled. What was she to say? "Well, it must be near here, if this is where I ended up…strange how the man that broke into my house took me here. Or at least, that must have been what happened, right? Or someone else brought me?"

"I guess…" Taiwan didn't sound convinced, making Rei flinch, along with a hard tug she gave on her hair. "Well, when I can, I'll show you a world map. Then you can show me where you're from."

Oh, no. "Oh, okay. That sounds good."

"You're a mystery, Rei," Taiwan chirped. But there was uncertainty in her voice, and that scared Rei. So far she had been treating her well. She didn't want to break the relationship they had. There was hardly one at all, to be sure, but so far it had been positive. Rei didn't want to lose that, and considered confessing. But no, a few acts of kindness were not worth the full truth. If they had no knowledge of other dimensions, she could be in trouble. She could only imagine the manipulation and exploitation and pain that would befall her. If they believed her at all, and didn't label her as simply insane.

She chose not to respond.

After a few more minutes, Taiwan was done. "There!" she said, setting the brush down triumphantly. "You're all done! You have lovely hair, Rei. Nice and thin, too."

"T—Thank you," she replied hesitantly, standing. She glanced over at the nightgown that hung over the chair. "I'll change into my pajamas now, I guess…"

Taking that as her cue to leave, Taiwan stood. "Alright. I threw away your robes, by the way. They were just too stained to be saved."

Rei nodded. "I understand. Thank you."

"Well, goodnight then, Rei."

"Goodnight." Taiwan gave her a strained smile and then left, shutting the door behind her.

The first thing Rei did was Bend. She raised her arms over her head and twisted her hands, pulling out all the water from her hair. She formed the moisture into a ball, then swept one arm towards the bathroom door. The water obediently shot through the open shower door and splashed onto the floor to drain. Rei shook her hair. Perfectly dry. Well, at least her Bending seemed normal and efficient as ever. Sure, she could have Airbended her hair dry, but that would take a while, and it would mess up her hair again.

She let the towel drop to the floor, then went back into the bathroom to hang it up. She returned to the bedroom and slid the pale blue nightgown over her head, completely without undergarments, which made her feel a little uncomfortable. But she had been wearing her bra and underwear for five days—now that she was alone, she decided to wash them out.

She retrieved them from where she left them, tucked in the front drawer of the dresser. She cleansed them in the sink, using the bar soap. Thankfully, they had not been stained with any blood. When she was done, she decided to test out her Airbending. Holding her bra in one hand she pushed her other hand towards it, and a strong gust of air flew from her palm. She did that until it was dry, then did the same with her underwear.

"Well, that's two…" she mused. Rei certainly didn't feel any different in this world than her own. There seemed to be no shift in her Bending abilities. Still, she had to be sure…

She held out her hand, and took a deep breath. She felt the heat from the steam around her, and pictured it collecting in her palm. She imagined all the heat in her body rushing to her fingertips, and her energy with it. _Ignite, ignite, ignite! _she commanded in her head, and successfully a flame came to life. She closed her hand, extinguishing it. Fire had been the hardest element for her to learn—before going to the Academy, she could only Bend it when she was angry. She lacked the drive necessary to Firebend, and it still took a lot of concentration to do it. But the fact she could create the little flame in this world was good enough. Whether there was Bending here or not, she was grateful she could still do it here. It could be very useful, but also very dangerous. She decided right then to keep everything about her a secret, and to never Bend in front of anyone.

Rei wasn't concerned with Earthbending. It was the element she was _born_ with. If she could Bend the other three elements, she certainly could Bend the one that came most naturally to her.

She was just putting her undergarments back in the dresser when there was a knock at the door. Rei opened it to see China standing there, holding a tray in his hands. "Ah—Mr. China!" she said, surprised to see him.

"Good evening, Rei," he replied evenly, his eyes scrutinizing. So he didn't trust her, either. But as long as he was providing shelter for her, well, she didn't mind. "I've brought more food for you, if you'd like."

"Oh! Thank you." Rei opened the door wider and stepped aside, inviting him in. Her skin prickled with unease, however. It was not clever to let a possible enemy into her room, even if it was technically his.

"Feeling better?" he asked, setting the tray of food on the nightstand.

Rei nodded. "Now that I've taken a shower, yes." She picked up a cup of tea he had prepared and took a sip. "Oh, wow, this is very good! Is this oolong?"

China nodded, a proud smile edging his lips. "So you have a taste for fine tea. Think you can tell what kind of oolong tea it is?"

Rei felt a grin creep across her face. She played this game with her father, an expert tea maker who grew his own tea ingredients. But was it safe to show her smile? Best not to offend him, at least. She took another slow drink, then said, "Jasmine?"

"Correct!"

"Well, it's very good. Did you grow it yourself, sir?"

China shook his head. "No, not me. But there's a tea maker not too far from here that grows just about anything you can think of that has been put in tea. I bought some shrubs from him the other day."

"But you boiled this yourself?"

He nodded, and Rei smiled now, realizing how much she missed simple conversation.

"Not too many people do that anymore, buying it in bags and whatnot. But growing and making it yourself is the best way to do it, in my opinion. My father, he had his own garden full of herbs and shrubs and leaves. His income revolved around selling his hand-brewed tea. He taught me some of his techniques, but…" She paused, and looked down at the steaming liquid. "He had a knack for it, you know? I was never as good as him, and I'll probably never be. He just had the talent for it."

China nodded. "I know what you mean. I've met people who seemed to be born to be great tea makers, and some who just weren't." He was silent for a moment, then added, "Why do you keep talking about your dad in the past tense?"

Rei flinched, realizing her error. "He passed away two years ago," she admitted, wetting her lips. Her stomach clenched in grief, but she managed to stop any tears.

"Oh…I—I'm sorry…"

"Oh, no, don't be! It was just a question. I don't mind," Rei said.

When her words died and the silence became awkward, she asked, "Are you really five thousand years old?"

China may or may not have blushed slightly. "Well, almost," he replied.

"Amazing. You don't look a day over thirty-three!"

Now he was clearly pleased, and his chest may or may not have puffed out in pride a little. "Finally, someone who sees it! Everyone else, especially Taiwan, just drag on and on about my age, making fun of how I look…"

Rei gasped. "But didn't you say you are the oldest country? Shouldn't they pay their elder his respect?"

"That's what I try to tell them!" he cried, throwing up his hands. "But they never listen to me! They think that because they're independent that means they can be rude to me."

"How horrible," Rei muttered.

"Oh, I forgot to ask. Rei, how do you write your name?" China asked suddenly, after Rei had eaten a few mouthfuls of cucumber salad.

"With the character for 'jade'." Lifting a chopstick in the air, she drew the character.

"I see. Well, it's a nice name."

"Oh—thank you." The last person to tell her that was Huang, and it made her blush. She wasn't complimented very often on her name or appearance by people other than her dad. Only was she complimented on her Bending, if she did something right.

"Well, I guess that settles it. Some of the other countries are really curious about you, you know. I can't say for sure, but I'm sure that a few of them are bound to show up here uninvited just to see you. They're a strange bunch, but they're nice enough. They really won't hurt you," China told her.

Rei pictured Setsuko and shuddered. No, his word wasn't to be trusted. She needed to learn for herself who was an enemy and who was a friend. So her only response was an uncertain hum, and she opted to eat to cut off any further conversation.

"Well…goodnight then, Rei," China said when she was finished.

"Goodnight. Thank you for the food," she replied quietly, and watched him leave the room with the tray of empty dishes. Once she felt his vibrations fade away down the steps, and she was sure no one was around, she shut the door and locked it tight. She felt certain she wouldn't sleep at all because she was so nervous, but when her head hit the pillow she was out cold almost immediately, before she had even put the blankets over herself, and before she could further entertain the idea of fleeing.

* * *

><p>"So, did you learn anything new?" Taiwan asked China in the kitchen, where she was cleaning the dishes.<p>

China looked thoughtful. "Well, she has a taste for tea. She could what kind it was in two sips."

Taiwan rolled her eyes. "Okay, let me rephrase that. Did you learn anything _useful _about her?"

China glared at her. "She writes in Japanese," he confided. "And her father has passed away, too."

The female nation blinked. "I don't know if I should be surprised or not, really. About the writing, I mean. I would think that she would write in English, based on her accent, but then again, she said she doesn't know what English is, and her name is Japanese. We should get her to write something sometime. Also, I was going to show her a map tomorrow, so that she can show us where this 'Earth Kingdom' is."

China nodded in agreement. "That sounds good." He was silent for a minute, deep in thought. "She's such a strange girl. I still don't like the idea of her staying with us."

"She's nice," Taiwan defended. "She's just shy, and I can't blame her for being nervous around us."

"Nor should we trust her!"

"I never said I did trust her!" Taiwan stopped cleaning a plate, turning on her heel to face China. "I just…I'm worried about her, and curious, too. That's all."

China shook his head. "I just hope we haven't made a huge mistake. We gave her more information about us than most people know."

Taiwan took a deep breath, then murmured, "I hope so, too."


	6. Chapter 6

Rei was exhausted. She had her written exam on the history of Waterbending the next morning, and had spent the day studying. Now it was night, and she was wrapping up an essay she had procrastinated on. She was lying stomach down on her bed, sweeping her name neatly across the title page with an ink brush, her preferred writing utensil for important documents.

"All done," she finally murmured, content with the essay on the first Waterbenders. She stood up and set the title page on her desk to dry, planning to let it dry, then staple it to her report in the morning. She looked at the wall clock, surprised to see it was just past midnight. She sighed.

"Shoot. That means I have less than six hours of sleep," Rei said to herself. Well, she had already taken out her eye lenses, brushed her teeth, and bathed; she might as well go to sleep the way she was. So that was why she went to sleep in her clothes that night, after praying to the spirits to keep her and her loved ones in good health.

"Rei? Rei! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Rei started awake and leapt out of bed, instinctively creating a swirl of air around her. She pushed her hands outward, and a gust of wind knocked the intruder back. The pebbles in the little bowl at her bedside flew up and to her palm, and she stood poised on her bed, ready to strike. But then she felt the familiar heartbeat beneath her feet. "Master Setsuko?" she gasped. The pebbles fell from her grasp in shock. "What're you _doing _here?"

"Nice technique, Avatar," the young woman said instead, dusting herself off. "But you just exposed who you really are. You of all people know how important it is to stick with one Element in a fight, at least until you're ready for the world to know, and you just Airbended _and _Earthbended."

Rei was still too startled to respond right away. Then her face fell. "S—Sorry, Teacher. I was just surprised. But why are you here?"

"Then we'll have to work on remaining calm enough to only Bend one Element when surprised," Setsuko mused. She flashed a grin. "Anyway, I'm here because I have exciting news."

"So important it couldn't wait until morning?" Rei groaned, putting her glasses on to see her Earthbending teacher better.

"No," she replied simply. "Now come with me. It's something I must show you."

Rei didn't want to, and for a brief moment she felt uneasy. But then she shook her head. It was ridiculous of her not to trust Setsuko. She was her _teacher! _Waking her up in the middle of the night was unusual, sure, but Rei followed her obediently anyway. There was no point in arguing or complaining when it came to her stubborn instructor.

Setsuko lead her, quietly, out of her dorm, in the older wing of the Nonbender section of the Academy. They headed for the Earthbending faction of the massive facility. Setsuko nodded to the guards posted to the metal doors, and they Metalbended it open for them. Rei avoided their curious gazes. She had had to walk past them in the middle of the night before, and it was embarrassing to look at their searing looks directly. There was no way to explain to them why she traveled to and from the units of the Academy so late without exposing herself.

"You couldn't have told me we were having midnight practice?" Rei muttered, irritated she wasn't informed. A few times a month she did four-on-one sparring with her Bending instructors. It was when she'd practice using all four Elements at once, and it was done at night when there was no one around and the cameras were off. Thankfully, her masters had respectfully upheld her request for her existence as the Avatar to remain hidden. It was hard, but Rei thought it was worth it, in the long run.

Setsuko smirked as she opened the door for Rei, allowing her into the sparring room. "As the Avatar, you must be prepared for anything."

Rei rolled her eyes, and moved to the center of the room. She looked around. "Um…where's everyone else? And the jars of water?"

"What did I just say? As the Avatar, you must realize your life will be full of curveballs. Your life cannot be so predicable forever."

"Well, yeah, but…"

At that moment, she felt Setsuko raise a rock from the ground and launch it at her. _Thank goodness I'm barefoot, _Rei managed to think as she rolled out of the way. She preferred being barefoot, because she could feel more than when she had shoes on. Besides, her feet were so calloused that shoes hardly added any extra protection, unless she was in the snow.

Rei lifted her fists, raising two slabs of earth to act as a shield. She jabbed outward, and one went for Setsuko, but she dodged. The woman stepped, uprooting the ground in a line straight for Rei. She used the momentum of the strike to jump once the earth below her launched upward, and Rei swept the other slab for her teacher. Again she dodged. As soon as Rei landed, Setsuko sent another rock towards her. Rei raised her leg and side kicked, the rock shattering on contact with her foot. She jabbed her hands outward, fingers pointed, causing pebbles to fly for Setsuko's face.

"Good, Avatar, good!" Setsuko cried in delight, blocking the pebbles with a slab of rock. Rei channeled her chi and cancelled Setsuko's, lowering the rock wall. However, she was gone. But Rei had expected that. She felt her teacher moving underground.

Rei stomped down once Setsuko was right beneath her, and a circle of stone threw her into the air. She twisted to meet the attack her master was sure to throw…except there was no one there.

"Huh?" Rei said aloud before landing. Her feet had barely touched the ground when the earth beneath her crumpled. She fell to her knees, startled, and another rock hit the side of her head.

"Oof!" She tumbled, her head spinning. "Ugh…what?" she moaned. Her vision blurred, and she shook her head. "Setsuko, stop. Th—That hurt…"

But then another rock hit her, this time on the side. She rolled onto her back, the wind knocked out of her. She laid prone for a moment, the world spinning. "Setsuko…stop…" she managed to groan through her pants.

Through hazy vision, she saw her teacher approach her. She got down on one knee and looked at the Avatar with a grin full of malice. "Remember how I said I had big news, Rei?" she asked.

Rei, coughing, opted to roll over instead of reply, trembling with pain and shock. She rose to her feet shakily, then vomited on her clothes as she backpedaled, trying in vain to hold back her tears. Why was Setsuko being so cruel to her tonight?

"Well," the Earthbender continued, standing up, "it's actual slightly old news, but it's new to you. Tell me, Rei. Do you know about the Scarlet Regime?"

Somehow she managed to shake her head, still delirious.

"I can't say I blame you. To the world, the organization is of little threat. But it's growing, and it's changing. And we would just _love _to have you join us."

"Huh…" Rei choked, hardly registering her Earthbending teacher's words.

"But I know you," Setsuko continued in delight, "and I know you won't join our cause. So I'll just take you, okay? There are things we need to know, things _you _know, and I know that you won't tell me so easily. But I also know how weak and spineless you are, so…"

Setsuko raised her fists, her arms at a ninety degree angle. A clump of earth sailed towards the Avatar, and instinctively she put her hands in front of her face. But she didn't brace herself properly, and the rock caused one of her wrists to bend back. In an instant she heard a sickening crack of bone, and fire exploded in her arm. Fragments of rock hit her face, and a lens on her glasses cracked.

Rei shrieked and fell to the ground again. "My wrist! My wrist!" she sobbed, screaming in pure agony.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Setsuko said, though the Avatar didn't hear her. "I didn't mean to hurt you that bad. But don't worry. I'm sure we can find a Healer to fix your wrist right up."

The Earthbender approached Rei again and took her glasses off her face, crushing the frame. "No need for things that are already broken, but we'll make an exception with you. You're too important to throw away, sweetie." Her voice was smooth and warm, like honey, but her words were icy.

Rei looked up through tears of pain, still screaming, and could only see pinpricks of stone green where Setsuko's eyes should have been.

"You've always been one of my favorite students," Setsuko continued, her hands raising a rock from the ground. It landed in her palm. "Because of that, I'll put you out of your misery, okay? Welcome to the Scarlet Regime, Avatar."

With that, Setsuko raised the rock and swung it towards her pupil's head.

* * *

><p>"She writes in Japanese?" Taiwan said in surprise.<p>

China nodded. "It seemed like it. It's hard to tell when she didn't actually write down what character she used, but she definitely wrote a character, and she told me it was the character for 'jade'."

Taiwan sat at the kitchen table, deep in thought as the siblings ate breakfast together. "A girl who with a Japanese name speaks English despite not knowing what English is, with an American accent, despite not knowing what America is, found in China, and she writes in Japanese."

"And she claims to be from a place we've never heard of," China added.

"And she's reluctant to tell us the truth. That, or she's blatantly lying."

China glared at Taiwan. "And you decided to make her _our _problem."

"What would happen if anyone else found her?" Taiwan interjected. "She could be delusional, and she seems so helpless."

"They would take her a psychiatric unit, or a prison where she belongs!"

"China!" Taiwan threw her hands in the air, aggravated.

Just then, the doorbell rang. And rang. And rang.

China sighed heavily and rose to get it. "I knew the other nations would want to come just to see the girl, but this early in the morning?" He opened the door to see other Asian nations at the door.

"Aniki!" Korea tried to hug him, but he easily sidestepped.

"Why are you all here so early?" China asked as they came inside.

"Good morning to you, too," Vietnam said, rolling her eyes.

"We came early because everyone else is, and we wanted to be first to see the girl," Thailand explained politely.

"That sounds…a little creepy," Taiwan said from the kitchen.

"And what do you mean everyone's coming?" China cried in exasperation. "This house can't host so many people! And I certainly can't cook for all of them! They'll ruin this place!"

"You're over exaggerating," Korea said. Then he paused, thought about, then retreated his statement with a meek, "Well…"

China sighed heavily.

"Is Rei awake?" Japan asked.

"No," Taiwan replied, stepping into the foyer. She smirked slightly. "I knocked on her door when I woke up, but I didn't get a response. Her door was locked, so I picked it with a safety spin. She was sleeping soundly."

"You invaded her privacy," China stated, frustrated.

"For a good reason! I was worried she would run away."

Suddenly, there was a blood curdling scream from upstairs. Everyone jumped, and in the next moment were tripping over each other as they raced up the steps.

"Rei! Rei!" Taiwan cried, hearing her heartbreaking sobs of pain.

"What's wrong?!" Thailand shouted.

Taiwan, who was in the lead, threw the door open. Rei was still in bed, writhing in agony, shrieking as she held her wrist. Her eyes were closed tight, and Taiwan realized she was having a nightmare. A very bad one at that, it seemed.

"Rei! Rei, wake up! You're dreaming!" The island nation shook the girl, and her eyes flashed opened. She sat up abruptly, breathing heavily, still clutching her wrist. Her face was stark white, and sweat drenched her pajamas to her flesh.

"Huh?" Panting, Rei looked around to see Taiwan, China, and several other people. But…hadn't she just been in the sparring chamber with Setsuko?

_No, wait, _she realized, _that happened six nights ago…_

"Are you okay, sweetie?" asked a young woman, her long hair pulled back.

"I…I…" Rei was reeling. It had been a dream, yet not a dream. It was a _memory, _and it still so deeply disturbed her that it had really happened. Suddenly she was overcome with nausea. "No," she confessed with a moan, still holding her wrist. By the spirits did it hurt!

Taiwan reached down to touch Rei, but when the girl flinched she put her hand down. "You were screaming in pain. Are you hurt? What's wrong with your wrist?"

"I dreamt of the night I broke my wrist," Rei explained. "I—I'm sorry."

"I see," Taiwan hummed. "Please, don't be sorry for something you can't help."

"Thank you." Rei was silent for a moment, hoping she wouldn't offend her hosts. "Could I be alone for a moment, please? I suppose I should get ready for the day now…"

"Oh, of course!" Taiwan said, and began ushering the others out of the room. "There is breakfast waiting for you in the kitchen, Rei!" She pushed the remaining people out of the room and shut the door.

Rei climbed out of bed and was immediately cold. Shivering, she grabbed the clothes Taiwan had given her the night before, which were draped over the chair. She entered the bathroom and filled the sink with water to Bend it over her wrist, easing the pain in it. She splashed water on her face, used the restroom, and changed into the clothes the island nation had provided her; a pink dress. Pink wasn't really Rei's style—she much preferred earthy tones—but she had no reason to be picky. She brushed her hair and smoothed her bangs, until she felt her appearance was presentable.

The Avatar was still trembling as she descended the stairs. It was so awful to relieve that moment of betrayal from her Earthbending teacher. She _trusted _Setsuko. She _relied _on her. And what made it worse was that, currently, she was in a situation where she _had _to trust and rely on others, just as she had to with Setsuko. There was no guarantee these strange nation people from this strange world were as generous, albeit suspicious of her, as they seemed.

"Ah, there you are! Good morning, Rei!" Taiwan said when she spotted the young woman wandering the halls.

"Er…hello," she murmured.

"Come with me. I'll take you to the kitchen. There's some people I want you to meet there."

Rei followed her to the kitchen, where she encountered China and several others she did not know.

Taiwan swept her hand over the room. "You already know China. Rei, these are some of the other countries in Asia." Pointing to each one she said, "That's Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, India, and South Korea. Actually, there were all here yesterday, including Hong Kong and Macau, but they're not countries, so they didn't come."

All those names, including 'Asia', were completely lost to the Avatar. Still, she bowed politely. "N—Nice to meet you all."

Vietnam, Thailand, and India were smiling at her like she was a friend they hadn't seen in awhile. Japan's face exposed mild intrigue. But this South Korea person did not look too pleased. He stepped up to her and said, "Hey, do you recognize me?"

Rei shrunk back. "Um…" No, she didn't recognize him at all. But it would be rude of her to say so, wouldn't it? Rei touched her wrist, which still hurt somewhat.

"Korea!" Vietnam said sternly. She grabbed the collar of his—what was it, a robe?—and pulled him away from her. "Don't be so rude!"

"Rude?" he cried, turning on his heel. He pointed a finger at Rei. "She _hit _me with a _towel rod_ yesterday!"

"That was you?" Rei asked, surprised. Vaguely, she remembered sweeping his legs out from under him when he entered her room. "Oh…" She was silent for a moment, then realized she should apologize to avoid antagonizing herself even further. "I am so sorry!" She bowed deeply. "I—I was just scared. I didn't know where I was or who you were, so…"

"Oh, no, don't worry about it. Korea's just being pouty. We understand you were scared," Taiwan interjected, and muffled Korea's mouth when he tried to protest.

"A—Alright," Rei stammered uncertainly. It didn't seem that he wasn't worrying about it.

"Now, then, would you like breakfast?" she continued, unfazed. She released Korea when he stopped squirming, and he glowered at her silently.

"Um…sure."

As Rei ate, she considered her options. She could escape these people, run away from the ones she didn't trust…but then what? If she couldn't trust the people who provided her clothes, shelter, and food, then who _could _she trust? And how was she to survive here, when she had no idea where "here" was? She didn't want to be here. She just wanted to go home. But she knew that was a wish that couldn't be granted for a very long time now. She couldn't go back until she returned to her own reality and restore her own world's balance.

Rei hated that she relied on these people so heavily. But there was no other choice.


End file.
